


Anastasis

by turtlesparadise



Category: Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-08 04:15:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11073876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turtlesparadise/pseuds/turtlesparadise
Summary: How the Legendary Turk came to be.  This is a chronicle of Legend's (a.k.a 'Zed') early life, starting with his childhood in Junon - and some strange life-changing events therein- leading up to his unusual career choice as an arms broker, some personal tragedy and heartbreak, ultimately culminating with his recruitment into the Turks.  There will be quite a few OC's featured within, and Legend's backstory is largely OC-like, as most of his history is my own invention.Notes on OCs are in end chapter notes.





	Anastasis

**Prologue**

_The great disaster that struck Junon Harbor during the height of the summer tourist season in_ εγλ 1978 _, was an event that would change life Junon and its outlying areas dramatically.  Right at the beginning of June, just a few months before the days began to grow colder and shorter, the underwater mako reactor in Junon sprang a leak, leaching mako into the harbor. This, of course, was the underwater reactor that Shinra denied the very existence of - the one nobody was supposed to know about, but of course everyone did know that ‘something’ was down there beneath the briny depths.  Rumors flew about during its construction; some speculated that it was an underwater marine lab, or an oil refining facility.  Not many who knew Junon’s landscape well really believed that last one; everyone knew that exploratory oil drilling had turned up nothing._

_No oil, but there was plenty of mako to be found, and it was particularly abundant beneath the waters of Junon Harbor.  During the warmer months, some of the children of Junon would go exploring donning their scuba gear, their curiosity piqued and their suspicions aroused when they saw a Shinra infantryman standing guard by the steel-beam structure._

_President Shinra's public statement up until that point was that it was merely a mythril refining facility, and not a reactor.  Of course nobody believed it; any native Junonese knew that the mako concentrations around the harbor were high, the readings registered as such on their own instruments, and speculation had gone on for years that Shinra would eventually build a reactor in the harbor town.  It was only when mako bubbled up out of the waters, its shining phosphorescence floating atop the waves, that the citizenry of Junon received confirmation of what they already knew; that there was mako below the ocean floor, and Shinra had already seized upon the opportunity and begun drilling and extracting it without giving any notice to the fishing village._

_Shinra finally came forward after the incident, quickly cleaning up the spill, and vowing henceforth to institute more stringent safety precautions.  Once it was public knowledge that Shinra had built this underwater reactor in Junon some time ago, the President announced that Shinra, Inc., planned to expand the mako refining facilities in Junon even further, along with an expansion of the airport in Upper Junon._

_As a show of good faith - and good public relations management - President Shinra made financial reparations to anyone who had suffered damages as a result of the leak.  Charter fishing boats, a tug boat, several homes close to shore, and the Junon ferryboat had received some damage, their owners paid off with Shinra's insurance funds._

  

* * *

 

[ εγλ 1978 - September]

 

The flocks of seagulls that normally dotted Junon’s summer shores were beginning to scatter as the days grew shorter; summer tourist season in the harbor town was quickly coming to a close.  For the children who lived in the harbor town all year – ‘year-rounders’, as native Junonese were called-  had already returned to school.  In a clapboard house near the boardwalk, a teenaged boy sat at his desk, looking out the window of his second-story bedroom.  From his vantage point, he could watch the vendors down below on the Junon boardwalk, feeling wistful at witnessing Junon’s official end of summer. 

A few merchants were already packing away inventory and rolling their carts of merchandise back into their little shops, boarding up the windows for the season; some others were hanging colorful signs thanking tourists for their patronage and inviting them to come and visit again next summer.   A handful of old stalwarts were still remaining open for another weekend or two, hoping to snag the last of the summer visitors who didn't want the season to end either.

For the boy who sat at his desk, working on his first homework assignment of the year – an essay about what he’d done that summer - it had been a most unforgettable summer.  It had been, quite literally, a summer of the life-transforming variety.  He thought about this now as he sat alone in his bedroom, quietly contemplating the past few months.

One thing was for certain; he had a hell of a topic.  It was so fantastic, if the story hadn’t hit all the local papers, none of his teachers would believe it, and would accuse him of having an overactive imagination.  Outside of Junon, the story had been hushed up, but news spread around the small fishing village quickly.

After staring at the blank piece of lined paper for fifteen minutes, then staring out the window, he came back to the paper, and finally began writing out the composition’s title that he’d been agonizing over.

_The Summer I Died and Came Back From the Dead_

“Catchy,”  the boy muttered, and began writing out his first paragraph.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

[εγλ 1978 - June]

The boy, Ivan Zadrowski – better known to family and friends by his preferred nickname of Zed – was out on the water with his friends the day it happened, surfing.  He loved the water and always had, learning to swim proficiently as a very young child; he took to surfing quite easily.  Junon did not have quite the surfing scene that Costa del Sol had; the climate was cooler, the waves much smaller.  Junon Harbor and Costa del Sol both had a longstanding rivalry in tourism, each beach community convinced that their beach was the best.  Costa del Sol attracted the rich and famous, whereas Junon attracted more working class types from Midgar or the Chocobo Plains.  Junon beachgoers usually went for just the day, or for a  long weekend, and Costa was more of a destination type of resort.

Macklin Stevenson – called Mack, for short -  was one of Zed's closest friends since they'd started grade school together in Junon, and he was the first one to get an inkling that day that something was _not quite right_ as the two friends lay on their boards, belly-down, paddling out to sea.

Mack had been eager to get a good surf in that day just as Zed was, and he had even gotten to the beach well before everyone else to get a few practice runs in.  Both Mack and Zed had a friendly sort of rivalry going, each of them bragging that they were the better surfer, although both of them were quite proficient on a board.  Mack had at least seven inches on Zed in height, a fact which he teased the smaller boy about relentlessly.  It did cause Zed to have a decent-sized chip on his shoulder, being picked on for his size, though he was well used to it by now.  He’d always been one of the smaller kids in his class, every single year he was in school.

“Did you feel that, man?"  Mack shouted over to Zed, who shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. 

“All  _I_ feel are some fat waves brewing,"  Zed countered with a lopsided grin.  He felt nothing out of the ordinary, not yet.  The weather forecasters were predicting some passing showers – a summer sprinkle or two, nothing that would merit cancelling the day of surfing the friends had planned.

"Nah, I don't know what it is....."  The boy's black curls were damp with seawater, bouncing and glistening in the afternoon sunlight.  "There's like a… _rumbling_ , or something."

"Probably just a tremor,"  Zed replied dismissively.   "Or maybe the storm's moving in.  It's nothing.  Come on, we're wasting daylight, man.   I want to get at least one more surf in before my mom's calling me home for dinner."   He paddled out faster, grinning as he spied the swell of a monster wave off in the distance.  _This is going to be a big one…I can feel it_. 

He didn't feel the trepidation that Mack seemed to, so Zed approached the incoming wave with eager excitement, quickly standing on top of his board.

 He balanced himself on his board carefully, arms spread out to steady himself, his body coiled like a spring as he waited for the wave to come, the biggest wave he'd ever seen in his life, ready to ride the pipe and hopefully impress every one of his friends who was watching him from the beach.  As he was of the smaller boys among his friends and peers, Zed was constantly trying to showboat and prove himself, perhaps more than was really necessary, in an attempt to impress everyone.  Moreover, he wanted to prove himself to  _himself_.

At twelve years old – his thirteenth birthday a month away at this point -  Zed stood roughly five-feet-one-inches tall, and by now most of the kids in his class towered over him.  He pretended it didn’t bother him, but it did.  Being teased constantly for his smaller-than-average stature did not help.  His legs kept slipping off of the board; the surfboard was just a bit too large for him, but his mother had bought it secondhand for him, assuring him that he’d eventually grow into it.

That had been two summers ago when Zed had begun his surfing lessons and he hadn’t grown all that much during that time, though his surfing skills did grow exponentially.  His friend Mack was bigger than he, but Zed was the faster of the two; both friends had a friendly sort of rivalry between each other.

The approaching swell was impressive; Zed was hunched now, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.  He narrowed his eyes and focused, feeling time nearly stop in an odd, hanging moment of silence.  The seagulls had flown off in a hurry, heading inshore. 

Zed’s excitement quickly gave way to terror as the wave churned, curled over and around him and he realized, too late - this was no ordinary wave.   It sounded to Zed as though the earth actually groaned, and the water bubbled all around him, reminding him briefly of the hot springs in Mideel.  Except this was not the calm, peaceful bubbling of a recreational spa.  _This_ felt like an earthquake – in the middle of the ocean.

Then, the silence was broken by a deafening crash as the wave crested, slamming down upon Zed, knocking him off of his board.  He panicked and screamed, water shooting violently up his nose; he scrambled, hands scrabbling for the board but it kept slipping out of his grasp.  

_What the hell is down there, Leviathan?  No…that couldn’t be possible –_

 Zed's train of thought was instantly broken as he got another mouthful of seawater, the ocean rushing around him.

 _I’m going to die.  I didn’t even get to see my thirteenth birthday –_ His thoughts ran in this circular, panicked fashion as he struggled to break the surface, but the current was far too strong, dragging him further and further from the shore.

_Mack!  M-mom!  Aunt Sylvia!_

Mack was shouting at him now, but Zed couldn't hear a thing above the roar of water in his ears.  The salt spray hit him in the face again and he blinked, vomiting up saltwater as the undertow kept pulling him out, out to sea. Zed flailed about in the churning surf like a rag doll, surfboard flying up into the air, still attached to his leg by the leash.  He coughed and spluttered, choking on yet another lungful of salt water.  Zed sank, and kept sinking, down, down, down; his last thoughts were of his mother, his aunt, and his home.  He could see his arms over his head, reaching up to daylight above as he was dragged down below the surf.

 _Shit.  It's a tsunami_ , Zed realized, as he slipped into the watery depths, his board floating above him.   _It **must**  be a tsunami._   _Someone must have summoned Leviathan, or Typhoon, this isn’t just a summer storm._

Zed wondered if they would find his body washed up on the shore; he wondered if Junon would be wiped off of the map altogether.

He wouldn't ever know if his family and friends survived this monster wave; he knew he would not survive this, as he was dragged beneath the waves by centrifugal force.  The wave had set in motion a whirlpool, from which Zed could not escape.  He wanted to scream, he  _tried_  to scream, but he couldn't -  his lungs were full of water.

Dying wasn't so bad, Zed thought, now that it was actually happening to him.  He'd always thought it would hurt more, but there was this feeling of calm, and quiet – and no pain.  After feeling weighted down as he sank down to the ocean depths, Zed suddenly felt lighter – buoyant, almost.  He was still sinking, but felt as though he was floating above the water.  Was _this_ what people meant when they talked about having an out-of-body experience?  He'd heard of talk like that   Perhaps he should just relax, and let it happen; at least in the Lifestream, he’d be reunited with the father he loved and missed more than anything, his father, the firefighter, who had died a hero when Zed was only ten years old.

_Dad…. dad, are you in here?  Are you in the Lifestream?  Can you help me?  Please…help me.  I don’t want to die._

His mind flashed back to a moment nearly two years ago, one he kept buried deep down, trying to forget the pain it caused; his mother and his aunt were crying, the smell of smoke permeating the village in lower Junon.  A great fire had broken out in a local warehouse, and Zed’s father – his namesake, Ivan Senior – had perished battling the blaze.  He’d been a firefighter with the Junon Fire Department for five years, and had been well-respected in the harbor community.  His death had left Zed’s mother, Jacqueline, completely shattered.

 G _reat.  Dad dies in a fire, and now I’m going to drown.  Ma’s going to be pissed_ , Zed thought idly as he struggled against the tug of the undertow.

The struggle for air quickly passed and he felt buoyant again, lightweight.  The water was warm and green, comforting - much warmer than Junon waters normally were, it almost felt tropical, as though he were floating in the sea off of Costa del Sol.  Zed felt at peace, surrounded by calm, gentle waters.  He could feel a thrumming vibration all around him, and he folded his arms across his chest, hands touching his shoulders, eyes shut.  As he descended into the ocean’s depths, surrounded by the glowing green of mako, Zed wore a peaceful smile.  It was the most incredible feeling he had ever experienced, this feeling of being weightless and free.  Death wasn't so bad after all.

The smile fell from Zed’s face abruptly as he felt himself being yanked from the water, a cool Junon breeze hitting him, making him shiver violently.  He could hear a gaggle of voices around him; his friends, his mother – he could even make out the very distinctive voice of his aunt Sylvia.

 _“He’s dead, Sylvia, oh my god – he’s dead!”_    It was his mother, Jackie – Zed could hear her screaming and crying for him.    _“Minerva, oh Minerva –  my little boy - “_

_“Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to move away – please, move back -”_

Zed’s body convulsed violently, and he coughed up great lungfuls of water as he heard the gentle squawking of a bird and it was not one of the familiar sounding seagulls that had been flying to and fro over the beach.

It was a  _phoenix_ ; Junon’s fire and rescue crew, the same company Zed’s father had been a part of until his untimely death, had used a phoenix summon on him.  So far, it appeared to be working.  Incredible pain seared throughout every nerve ending as the first jolt of the life-restoring summon magic entered his body, awakening and re-oxygenating the waterlogged boy.  The transition from life to near-death had been so calm, so serene, and  _this_  – being yanked back from that peaceful nether, back into cold reality, was painful both physically and on some other deeper, metaphysical level.  He was being ripped in two, and some unknown instinct was driving Zed back toward the ocean that had nearly claimed him, though he was still far too weak to even stand.    _I’ll drag myself back,_  he thought, batting weakly at his mother’s hands as she attempted to calm and restrain him.  

“No, no – I want to go back – “ Zed coughed and spluttered, struggling to sit up, it felt as though someone heavy were sitting on his chest and he could not.  “Let me go back – back to the water  - “   He coughed again, unable to catch his breath, or rid himself of the nagging feeling that something was missing.

No.  Some _one_.   _Mack, where was Mack?_

Zed looked up into the frantic and worried eyes of his mother who was now kneeling above him, stroking his hair, crying.  Aunt Sylvia was there as well, spunky and bright eyed as always, but Zed could see the trace of fear hiding behind her clear blue eyes.  Sylvia drew the thermal blanket around him, rubbing her hands on it vigorously, trying to warm Zed’s chilled skin.  "M-M-Mack..."   His teeth were chattering, rattling as he shivered.  "I have to go back - find Mack - "

“You’re delirious – and you are _not_ going back into the water, do you hear me?  Not ever!”   Jackie sobbed.   One of the first responders was talking to her now, murmuring something about Zed being airlifted to Midgar General Hospital.

“But it’s so far – can’t he be treated here?”   

The man shook his head. “Midgar’s better equipped for this, ma’am.  We’ve got him breathing again, and stable; he’s fit for transport by helicopter.”

“I’m going with him.”  It was not a question but a statement, and Sylvia chimed in as well. “I’m going  _too_ ,” Sylvia said firmly, setting her jaw firmly, clearly not taking no for an answer.

“All right – we’re going to get him on a stretcher, and up to the airstrip in Upper Junon.  I’ve just received word that we’re cleared for take-off in ten minutes, so we have to move, and fast.”

“Wait!”  Zed finally exclaimed, pulling the oxygen bag off of his face so he could speak.  “My friends – “   He looked around, puzzled.  A group of girls from school was standing far off to the side, not speaking, all of them wearing very frightened expressions on their faces.   “Ma….ma, where’s Mack?”

Jackie’s face fell, and she looked at Sylvia, shaking her head, then back to her son.

“Mack’s gone, darling.  I’m so sorry.  The tidal wave took him out to sea, just as it brought you back in.  They haven’t found him yet.”

“No….no, that can’t be  _true_ , he’s out there somewhere, they have to _find him_ – “  He gagged slightly, a sob stuck in his throat, and the paramedic gently forced him to lay back, placing the oxygen bag over his face once again.   “Damn it, ma! I want – “

 _I want my friend back.  I want him to be alive._     Zed knew the chances of Mack surviving after being swept out to sea were slim to none.  It was possible they’d never even _find_ the body; the ocean between the two continents was massive in area, and its depths endless.

“Just lay back and try to relax, okay?”   The man waved a hand over materia set in his armlet, and Zed’s eyes drooped instantly as a sleep spell was cast.    “You’ve been through a lot, now just try to sleep a bit…when you wake up, we’ll be in Midgar, okay?”

Zed nodded, one eye open as he quickly drifted off to sleep.   _Damn it, Mack….why’d you have to go?  Why?_

_And why am I still here?   I drowned....I...thought I drowned..._

 

* * *

 

Zed slept through the entire thirty-minute helicopter flight to Midgar, and upon waking in the hospital room, walls painted in institution mint green, he felt a pang of disappointment followed by a bit of anxiety.  He hated hospitals, always had; the smell of sickness and death could never be fully masked by bleach and antiseptic.

He blinked his eyes and half-sat up in the bed, Jackie and Sylvia were both there with him, seated in uncomfortable plastic-back chairs on either side of the bed.   Zed fished through the blankets, looking for the television remote and the control to adjust the bed; he wanted to sit up.  Moreover, Zed wanted to get out of the hospital, and wondered just when he’d be discharged.

“You’re awake….how are you feeling?”   Jackie asked her son, her voice ragged around the edges, exhaustion lacing her features.  Zed’s gaze went from his mother, to aunt Sylvia, and back again.  They both looked tired, like they hadn’t slept in ages.

“I’m all right, I guess.  How long have I been here?  When can I go home?”  He grimaced as he stretched; he felt sore, damned sore, but Zed supposed that was just natural after nearly drowning.  All of his limbs felt stretched out, and every joint in his body ached.

“It shouldn’t be too much longer now, before you’re discharged.”  Jackie murmured, trying to hide a yawn behind her hand.  “You’ve been here overnight…. “

“What?”   Zed’s disbelief was obvious; to him, it felt like he’d only been out for a few hours.  Sylvia moved her chair closer to the bed, patting his arm reassuringly.   “Aunt Sylvia.  Please tell me you didn’t sleep in those chairs – “

“Not to worry, darling,” Sylvia reassured him.  “There’s a lounge, your mother and I took turns staying up with you.”

 “Your vital signs are fine, or so the nurses tell me,” Jackie cut in.  She felt nervous the longer they stayed in Midgar; Sylvia didn’t mind the city, having lived there once herself, but Jackie preferred her quieter life in Junon.  “But….”   She paused, chewing on her bottom lip, unsure if she should even say anything.

“What, ma?  What aren’t you telling me?”  He blinked, trying to stretch his arms over his head, but they were tethered somewhat by all of the IVs and leads in his arms.

“Did you notice anything strange below the water, Ivan?”  Jackie asked in a small voice, as though she already knew the answer but was afraid to hear it uttered out loud. 

Zed’s brows drew together in a thoughtful frown and he shrugged wearily.  “It was warm,” Zed finally answered.  “Warmer than average for the water in Junon.  Like – remember when we went to Costa, how warm it was?  It was like that.   And….green.   _Really_ green, like the water was glowing.  I don’t remember much after that.”

He bristled suddenly, sitting straight up in the bed.

“ _Someone’s out in the hallway talking about me_ ,” Zed lowered his voice to a whisper.  “ _Near the elevator.  They just got on_  – “   He backed against the pillows defensively, ready to rip the IV out of his arm and bolt.

Jackie and Sylvia glanced at each other, both shrugging their shoulders helplessly.  Zed had been jittery and jumpy – not himself, but they both figured this was due to the trauma he’d been through.  Sylvia quickly looked out into the hallway and, not seeing anyone, came back into the room, shaking her head.

“Zed….there’s nobody there,” she said slowly.   Sylvia was starting to worry just a bit, with how paranoid her nephew seemed to be; very unlike him.

“No, they didn’t get off on this floor yet!”  Zed snapped, then immediately looked remorseful for shouting.  “I’m….sorry, aunt Sylvia.  I just – they’re two floors down, they just got on, and they’re talking about me,  _I heard my name_  – “

 _Wait a minute.  How in the hell can I hear someone who’s two floors below me?_ It didn’t make sense to Zed, but nonetheless, he strained his ears to listen further.  “They’re coming.  They’re from Shinra.”

“ – Shinra?  Zed, honey, you must be confused.  Maybe the medication – I think they gave you some sort of painkillers here – “  Sylvia tapped one of the IV bags hanging from the stand next to Zed’s hospital bed, squinting at it.

“It’s not the medication,”  Zed whispered.  “I – I can  _hear_  things…a lot better than I used to.  And…everything just looks sharper, it’s weird.  Ma, did they give me an eye test since I got here?” he asked Jackie.

Zed had always been slightly nearsighted, and he had actually been prescribed eyeglasses – mostly for use at school so he could see math problems scrawled upon the chalkboard - but his vanity led to him not wearing the glasses very frequently.  Now Zed was seeing things in his hospital room, really  _seeing_  them, as if for the first time.  He could make out the writing on the chart on the wall, and on the chalkboard out on the hallway at the nurse’s station, even; things Zed just knew he normally wouldn’t be able to see, not without his glasses, were suddenly crystal clear.

“N-no.  They didn’t give you an eye test,” Jackie replied, confused.  “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Zed shrugged.  “But I feel like I can see and hear better than I used to.  Does that make any sense?”

“None at all…”  Jackie drew her chair closer to her son’s bed and laid a hand across his forehead, feeling his brow to ascertain whether or not he had a fever; it seemed to her like he was hallucinating.

"Maybe they gave you too much morphine - " Jackie muttered, and Zed shook his head.

"Ma, it's not that.  It's something else."   He stiffened, glaring at the doorway.  _Who are those people, and why are they talking about me?_

“I knew it, I  _knew_  Shinra was up to something,” Jackie said bitterly.  “Mako! It must be mako – “    She paused, mid-sentence, glancing up as a shadow fell across the doorway.   Two figures in dark suits stood there; one male, one female, neither one of them speaking, merely….watching.

Jackie was about to politely inquire “may I help you?” when Sylvia blurted, “Well, well, well….if it isn’t Vincent Valentine.”  Her voice took on a teasing, chiding tone as she approached the tall and thin dark-haired male.

The man – Vincent -  smiled and nodded, stepping through the doorway   He appeared to be quite young, perhaps in his early twenties, a shock of black hair falling to the side of his face.  He nodded to his female companion, gesturing for her to come in as well; she was a petite young woman who appeared to be not much older than Zed.  Her face bore Wutaian features, and over her back she carried a red crossbow. 

“Ms.  Sylvia," the dark-suited man greeted her.  "It has been a while.  This is my associate, Ming.  We're from Shinra's Department of Administrative research."  Ming gazed upon Zed, Jackie, and Sylvia coolly, her stance rigid, her expression unflinching.  Zed stared at her with a bit of awe, and found himself leaning over to catch a glimpse of the red crossbow.

" _That is so cool_ ,"  he whispered, grinning at Ming.   One corner of Ming’s mouth turned up in a surreptitious sort of smile that she quickly bit back.  Meanwhile, Jackie was eyeing the duo suspiciously; she did not trust anything associated with the name Shinra, not since the company decided to build an airport on top of Junon, causing much of the native marine life to die off.

“Quiet, son,”  Jackie scolded her son.  Sylvia patted Jackie’s arm as if to say _let me do the talking_.  She did not hold the same hatred of Shinra that her niece did; Sylvia actually had a personal connection to Shinra, though it had been in the past, over eight years ago when she’d become friendly with one of Shinra’s top scientists.

“Vincent….I was so sorry to hear about your father,”  Sylvia murmured, sandwiching his hand between two of her own.  Vincent murmured something quiet in return, eyes downcast. 

“So…you’re with the Turks now, Vincent.”   Sylvia continued, and Zed’s ears perked up at the mention _.  Turks?  What are Turks?_

 “If you’ll just entertain me, please, Vincent -  I am wondering just why the Turks are here visiting a twelve-year old boy in the hospital?  Are you volunteering as candy stripers now?”

Vincent allowed himself a small grin.   “No, Ms. Zadrowski.   We are here in our official capacity - "

"As Turks, yes,"  Sylvia finished for him.  "You didn't answer my question.  I am curious as to _why_ Shinra is sending his Turks to visit a young boy in the hospital?  You haven't exactly come bearing flowers or chocolates for the lad, have you?"  

Vincent glanced at Ming and nodded to her; she moved quickly and shut the door, then rejoined her superior.

"The boy's accident today - well, it was unusual, to say the least.  We have reports that he passed through the Lifestream before returning to the Planet.   What do you remember, Ivan?"   Vincent turned his questions now to Zed, who scowled at him.

"It's  _Zed_.   _Don't_ call me Ivan," he said quickly, and Jackie sighed.  "Why do you want to know?"

"Because it is of interest to Shinra,"  Vincent explained patiently.   "As well as our scientists.  Now, have you noticed anything unusual since your....accident, yesterday?"

"I'm sore.  And I feel - well, tired,"  Zed replied.  "But man, I nearly drowned, I think that's probably kind of common?"  he snapped sourly.   Zed caught the look of panic in his mother's eye.

_There's something I haven't told you, something I didn't get a chance to tell you -_

"Ma,  _what_?"  Zed said abruptly.  "You were going to tell me something before - "

Jackie gave her son a  _look_.   _Not now!_   the look said, and Zed knew that look oh-so-well.

Finally, Ming spoke up.  "We have all of your medical records, Zed.  We're trying to get an idea of how you are feeling right now."  She paused a beat.  "Other than tired and sore, that's natural, of course."

"I - "   Zed stammered, looking down at the blanket covering his legs.  He vaguely remembered lying in bed just the night before, staring down at his feet, which normally came to rest three-quarters of the way down the bed.

"Wait....wait a minute,"  Zed murmured.   The sleep spell was all but worn off by now, and he sat up quickly, accidentally pulling a line out of his IV.  A machine began to beep shrilly.  He didn't care, he had to see -

Zed pulled down the sheet and shrieked.  His legs were clearly _much_ longer than they had been less than twenty-four hours before; the knees knobby and gangly as one would expect with any teenage boy undergoing a growth spurt.

Except, Zed's growth up until that point had been slow and steady, with no random spurts to speak of.  Jackie had even brought him to a doctor in the past, concerned about his lack of progress on the growth charts.

“That’s what I was about to tell you, son,”  Jackie said quietly, and Sylvia snorted.

“Yes, before we were  _interrupted_ ,”    Sylvia cut in, casting a withering glare at the two visiting Turks.

“Ma….is it about my legs?”  Zed’s blue eyes grew wide, worried.   “Come on!  Tell me!”

“You….seem to have grown six inches overnight, son,”  Jackie finally replied, reluctantly.  She glared at Veld and Ming.    “And nobody knows quite _how_.  The doctors here are stumped – they want you to see a specialist here before you’re discharged.”

“Well, _I_  know how, “   Sylvia said grumpily.  “Mako, that’s how.   _Mako_  did this.  The reactor – oh, you know, the one Shinra denied even existed – it had a leak, didn’t it!”   She was raising her voice now, looking crossly at Vincent whose expression remained deadpan, nonplussed.  Ming looked away and kept her arms folded across her chest.

Vincent didn’t answer, but Sylvia smirked nonetheless.

“Your silence speaks volumes, Vincent.  Don’t worry, now. None of us Junonese were at all surprised, you see.  The President insisted so  _fervently_  that there was no reactor in Junon, that none of us ever  _quite_  bought his fish tale.  The man, he doth protest too much,”  Sylvia quoted loftily.

“I was born at night,”  Sylvia declared, getting up out of her chair.  She opened the door and looked pointedly at both Turks.

“But not  _last_  night, dear Vincent.  Now, I am sorry to be so rude, but I must ask you to leave.  You’ve heard what you came to hear, haven’t you?  The boy needs his rest, now.”

“Very well, Ms. Sylvia.  We’ll be in touch,”   Vincent replied coolly.  “Ming, let’s go.”  Vincent gave Zed a lingering, odd look before he exited, Ming right behind him.  As Zed watched them leave the room, he was struck with the feeling that it would not be the last time he’d see either one of them.  

He looked down ruefully at his legs again, then his arms, which felt incredibly sore.  It made sense why they were sore, now that he knew how much he’d grown overnight.  Zed turned to his mother now, heart pounding with worry.

“Am I going to die, ma?  I knew I must have been in the Lifestream, but I thought I was gonna die.  That’s usually when you see Lifestream, right?  If you’re in a Mako fountain, or if you’re about to die.  What if I get mako poisoning?   What happened to me?”

Jackie brushed a lock of hair from her son’s forehead and smiled.   “I don’t _know_ what will happen,”  she answered honestly, not wanting to scare Zed, but she knew better than to keep anything from him.  “But we’ll get some answers soon, hmm?  How do you feel?”

Zed shrugged his shoulders and averted his gaze.  “I’m all right, I guess.   Everything seems…different.  Sore and tired.  So…I’m taller now?”   He managed a smile, and Sylvia moved in, ruffling his hair.

“See?  I told you…you’d catch up with your friends eventually. “   Sylvia chuckled.  “Although, this is not quite the way I’d pictured it happening.”

Zed snorted.   “Neither did I, Aunt Sylvia.  Hey…ma?  I wonder if I’ll grow any more than this?”

Jackie’s face went blank, then she attempted to paste on a fake smile.

“Time will tell, Zed.  Time will tell.”

**Author's Note:**

> OC's in this chapter:
> 
> Jackie Zadrowski - Zed's mother, a widow who lives in Junon with her son and her sister-in-law, Sylvia.  
> Aunt Sylvia - Zed's aunt - his father's sister. She has a past history with Shinra, having worked in the secretarial pool before moving back to the family home in Junon.  
> Ivan Zadrowski Sr. (deceased) - Zed's father  
> Ming - OC Turk, whose specialty is the crossbow.


End file.
